2019 KAWASAKI NINJA ZX-6R
FIRST IMPRESSION
P92
Vegas, baby
The city of Las Vegas is not known
for its excellent street riding charac-
teristics, so it seemed an odd place
to launch a bike whose main m.o.
is corner and apex slaying. But
Las Vegas is nothing if not surpris-
ing, and riding the new ZX-6R with
ABS into Mt. Charleston made the
scorching desert where most go to
lose their fortunes look more like
northern Washington as we passed
ski villages and logging cabins.
On the street, you're reminded
why Kawasaki gave the engine that
extra 36cc, as the low-to mid-range
torque is a welcome change from
the lack of initial punch commonly
found on supersport machines. On
top of that, the shortened gear-
ing doesn't feel like it's sacrificed
the top end, as you still get a solid
power rush once the needle swings
past that 10K rpm mark.
The engine is the best compro-
mise of supersport and superbike
performance currently available
from the Japanese. There's a beau-
tiful throttle connection and fuel
injection mapping with the ZX-6R
and almost no snatch on small twist
grip openings, so you can precisely
dial in the amount of throttle you
want and know that's what you're
going to get.
The ZX-6R already had a smooth
gearshift prior to 2019 but the fit-
ment of the Kawasaki Quick Shifter
system gives lightning-quick gear
changes, even if there's no auto-
blipper for clutchless downshifts.
No, this is not
Washington, it's
Nevada, about
70 miles from
Vegas. Seems
wrong, we
know.
